"How did they manage to do this"

In a few words: best football game ever made so far. Although this game doesn't offer that much more over Madden NFL 2000, except for the create a coach and more options, this is the greatest football game I've played on the Nintendo 64. The graphics are just breathtaking and all the options are enough to give you a pleasure overload, sending you into a seizure.

Visuals: 9 This game has great visuals and detail. Your uniform gets muddy in rain, and there is lightning, also. You leave footprints in the grass if its raining or snowing and there are people standing on the sidelines. They are sprites, however, and there are very few of them. This is much better than that empty feeling the stadium gave you in previous Madden games. The players are still on the large side, but you can change that and make them smaller and more realistic in size.

Sound: 7 The sound is pretty iffy in this game, as in most Madden games. Madden doesn't talk much (hooray?) and Summerall, still talks in his dull monotone, which is pretty realistic if you ask me. The whistle can be heard, and there is thunder. The ball makes a thud sound when kicked and the crowd can get pretty riled up at times.

Ingenuity: 10 Create a coach, more crate a play options, and the completely customizable game are to die for. Want longer field goals? Fine. You can even make the AI's field goals shorter if you're really bad. Want the AI to have a more conservative defense? No problem. Wish you could tackle better? No need to worry anymore. It's all there. The create a coach sounds lame, and it is somewhat, but it's just neat, i suppose. EA Sports really did an excellent job with this game. The draft and retiring of players is back as expected only the options have gotten better. The Franchise mode doubled in length to 30 years, too.

Replay: 9 This game never gets old. Even years from now, this game will still be fun because of the Franchise mode. Players retire after they play a certain amount of years or reach a certain age. Sometimes, players retire because of a career ending injury. The Franchise mode is what makes this game really special and EA took full advantage of their knowledge of that. They made this game about as realistic as possible and it is always fun.

EA has outdone themselves with this game. I can't wait to see what new features appear in future EA Sports football games. Even when Madden passes on and his commentary is only a memory (hooray?), im sure EA can use the knowledge of making a realistic football simulation and pump out even more great games.